Category: SharkBytes

Halmos Undergraduate Wins Outstanding Chemistry Graduating Senior Award

This April, Halmos College Chemistry student Sabrina Vázquez Brenzini received the award for Outstanding Chemistry Graduating Senior at the South Florida American Chemical Society (So-FLACS) Awards Ceremony and Banquet. Held at Florida International University, the award recognizes graduating undergraduate students who have demonstrated the highest level of academic excellence in the field of chemistry.

When informed of her win, Sabrina said, “I feel honored about receiving this award… [This award] motivates me to keep doing better, to always give my best…”

Also in attendance at the ceremony was faculty member Richard H. Perry, Ph.D. of the Halmos College Department of Chemistry and Physics.

So-FLACS is the south Florida branch of the American Chemical Society. Founded in 1876 and chartered by the U.S. Congress, the American Chemical Society is the world’s largest scientific society. Their mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and its people.

For more information: http://www.soflacs.org/

CAHSS Faculty Presents Lectures as Guest Artist at UNCG and Belmont University

While on sabbatical from NSU’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, Bill J. Adams, D.M.A., associate professor in the Department of Performing and Visual Arts, has presented lectures at the University of North Carolina Greensboro School of Theatre and at Belmont University School of Music in Nashville.

Adams is a certified instructor of the performance training method, Acting and Singing with Archetypes, which synthesizes the imagination, the voice, and the body as a starting point for character development in theatre. He has been invited, along with Christine Morris, MFA, associate professor in UNCG’s School of Theatre, to submit an article on Acting and Singing with Archetypes for the Vocal Traditions Series in the Voice and Speech Review, the journal of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association.

Conflict Analysis and Resolution Alumnus is the COO of the Seattle Police Department

Mark Baird, Ph.D., graduate of the doctoral program in Conflict Analysis and Resolution at NSU’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, was named the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Seattle Police Department. In this role, he oversees Professional Standards, Administrative Services, Budget and Finance, the 911 Communication Center and Information Technology.  

As COO, he works with various city entities and sits on several citywide committees and Mayoral subcabinets. He is responsible for the predominately-civilian support side of the organization. There is work in policy development, analysis, and implementation.

Baird indicated that, “My CR education has been very instrumental in my job and I use components of it each day.”

Prior to earning his doctorate degree from NSU, Baird earned his B.A. in Political Science from Central Washington University, and his M.P.A. from Florida Gulf Coast University. His extensive professional experience includes serving as the Executive Director of Budget and Finance, overseeing Budget, Facilities, Jail Coordination, and manages significant departmental projects. He served as a crime analyst and later the analytical supervisor and ComStat coordinator for the Collier County Sheriff’s Office and had a similar role in the Portland Police Bureau. While in graduate school, Baird was a research fellow for the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. He was the programs/operations analyst for the Snohomish County Department of Corrections and later became the Chief of Administration.  He has been an adjunct instructor at Clackamas Community College in Oregon and at Portland State University.

College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Alumna Continues her Passion for Environmental Issues at FAU’s Florida Center for Environmental Studies

Kimberly Vardeman, M.A.

Kimberly Vardeman, M.A., graduate of the Master of Arts in Cross-disciplinary Studies (MACS) program in the Department of Conflict Resolution Studies (DCRS) in NSU’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS) is continuing to pursue her passion for environmental issues including environmental stewardship, humane education, animal protection, and human rights. Vardeman is a research assistant at the Florida Center for Environmental Studies (CES) at Florida Atlantic University. Among her responsibilities, she coordinates community engagement research and public outreach.

In addition to her MACS degree from NSU, Vardeman earned her bachelors’ degree from the University of Florida. While earning her MACS degree, Vardeman was able to co-create her degree plan to include courses from NSU’s Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography. She completed a thesis in MACS, focusing her research on environmental community education. For more information about MACS, please contact Claudette Brooks in DCRS at cbrooks@nova.edu.

College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Faculty publish book, Utopia and Dystopia in the Age of Trump: Images from Literature and Visual Arts

Barbara Brodman, Ph.D., professor emeritus in the Department of History and Political Science (DHPS) and James Doan, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Literature and Modern Languages (DLML) in NSU’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS), co-edited the book, Utopia and Dystopia in the Age of Trump: Images from Literature and Visual Arts. It treats literature, film, television series, and comic books dealing with utopian and dystopian worlds reflecting on or anticipating our current age. The book is co-published by Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, and Rowman and Littlefield.

In addition to chapters written by the co-editors, other CAHSS faculty contributors include Christine Jackson, Ph.D., Kate Waites, Ph.D., professors in DLML, and David McNaron, Ph.D., professor emeritus on DHPS.

For more information and to pre-order the book, please go to https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781683931676/Utopia-and-Dystopia-in-the-Age-of-Trump-Images-from-Literature-and-Visual-Arts

Halmos 2018 Alumna Lead Author of Peer Reviewed Research Paper

This April, the journal of Physiology and Behavior published the article, “Manipulating Neck Temperature Alters Contagious Yawning in Humans”. The lead author is class of 2018 undergraduate biology major Valentina Ramirez. Her mentor was Halmos College faculty member Omar Eldakar, Ph.D.

The study investigated the thermoregulatory theory of yawning, which is essentially that yawns serve to cool the brain. Valentina and her collaborators tested this hypothesis by altering neck temperature above the carotid arteries with therapeutic packs which in turn influenced brain temperature and therefore the expression of yawning. The researchers found that yawning behavior followed predicted patterns with increased yawning when the brain was warmed, and decreased when the brain was cooled. Thermal imaging confirmed the application of therapeutic packs influenced the temperature of the superomedial orbital area, a region previously used as a noninvasive measure of brain temperature. These findings provide further support for a thermoregulatory function to yawning.

Valentina is now a first-year medical student with the U.S. Navy. Congratulations to Valentina for her impressive achievement, and to Omar Eldakar, Ph.D for his mentorship.

Halmos College Faculty Keynote Speaker the Southeastern Society of Parasitologists

On the weekend of April 11th, Halmos College biology faculty member Christopher Blanar, Ph.D. was one of the keynote speakers at the 2019 meeting of the Southeastern Society of Parasitologists (SSP). Hosted by University of Georgia’s Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, the title of Blanar’s talk was “Effect sizes, affect words, and the value of parasites as bioindicators”.

“In short I used text analysis software to study whether scientists in my field change the way they write depending on the statistical significance and effect sizes associated with their results.”, said Blanar.

The other invited speaker was Kate Sheehan, Ph.D. of Southern Arkansas University. Over 200 people attended the conference. Blanar’s talk was well received and discussed throughout the meeting.

The SSP is an affiliate of the American Society of Parasitologists and is a mix of ecologists, taxonomists, cell biologists, immunoparasitologists, veterinarians, students, and more. The annual meetings are casual, relaxed, and always interesting. Membership is open to all persons interested in the study of all things related to the fascinating world of parasites.

Conflict Analysis and Resolution Doctoral Alumnus Publishes book, When Church Conflict Happens: A Proven Process for Resolving Unhealthy Disagreements and Embracing Healthy Ones

Michael Hare, Ph.D.

Michael Hare, Ph.D., doctoral graduate of Conflict Analysis and Resolution in NSU’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS), has published a book titled, When Church Conflict Happens: A Proven Process for Resolving Unhealthy Disagreements and Embracing Healthy Ones. The book provides a blueprint for understanding and addressing church conflict and telling the difference between healthy and unhealthy conflict.

Hare served as a pastor for over thirty years in New York, Vermont, Oklahoma, Colorado, and California. He has also served as a consultant to churches struggling with conflict. He is a consultant with Living Stones and is the chaplain for Compassion International working with domestic and international staff. In addition, Hare has been an adjunct instructor for several universities, teaching courses such as mediation.

Moody Publishers published the book, April 2019. For more information, please go to

https://www.moodypublishers.com/authors/h/michael-hare/.

Counseling Professor is Associate Editor of New Journal

Assistant Professor W. Bradley McKibben, Ph.D.

When he is not teaching or running a research lab, College of Psychology Department of Counseling Assistant Professor W. Bradley McKibben, Ph.D., is also serving as the associate editor of a new journal.

In 2018, McKibben accepted a three-year appointment as associate editor of Teaching and Supervision in Counseling, the official journal of the Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, or SACES. The organization, whose mission is to support counselor educators and supervisors, includes 14 southern states, covering bordered to the north by Maryland, to the south by Florida, and to the west by Texas.

“It gives more of an outlet to research and researchers who are studying training of counselors,” McKibben said of the journal’s creation. “This offers another outlet for that.”

McKibben’s involvement arose from a conversation with his former mentor Kelly Wester, Ph.D., an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. McKibben expressed an interest in journal editing work, and several weeks later, Wester called him about the new journal, of which she is the editor. After McKibben was aboard, there was the task of setting up the journal and requesting articles for the first issue.

The journal received 60 submissions for its debut issue in February 2019, but only six made it into print. McKibben credits several ad hoc reviewers for helping read through the submissions and help get the journal launched. Some of the articles cover topics like “Exploring Latina Clinical Mental Health Counseling Students’ Perceptions of Teaching Practices” and  “Am I My Peers’ Keeper? Problems of Professional Competency in Doctoral Students.”

The journal will publish twice a year, with the second issue expected in October. McKibben said it might have more articles than the first issue, but fewer than 10.

For More Information: https://psychology.nova.edu/news-events/2019/cop-counsjournal.html

Six NSU Students Attended Florida Neuroscience Symposium

Six Behavioral Neuroscience majors represented NSU at the 2019 Sunposium, which took place March 4-6 in West Palm Beach.

The 2019 event was the fourth biannual symposium organized by the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience. The six students, Matthew Cannon, Alina Ali, Cailey Weaver, Jacob Hardy, Esha Parikh, and Barry Shaw, were selected as Florida Fellows and had all expenses paid for the Sunposium. The event drew neuroscience researchers from around the world, and each evening featured a plenary talk by a Nobel laureate.

The students were joined by three faculty members from the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience: Professor Jaime Tartar, Ph.D., and Assistant Professors James Munoz Ph.D. and Allie Holschbach Ph.D.

“It was wonderful that our Behavioral Neuroscience students were selected as Florida Fellows for the 2019 Sunposium,” Tartar said. “This was an extraordinary opportunity for them to interact with hundreds of the world’s most esteemed neuroscience researchers. This program also generously supported their registration and lodging for the conference.”

Weaver said she was initially nervous being an undergraduate in the company of neuroscientists, but found the atmosphere relaxed. She said the Sunposium confirmed her aspiration to work as a neuroscience researcher.

“Through this experience, I was able to speak to many researchers, meet Nobel laureate Dr. Eric Kandel, and present a poster for the first time,” she said.

Full story: https://psychology.nova.edu/news-events/2019/cop-sunposium.html

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